Watchmaker given suspended sentence for trading ivory

A watchmaker who is believed to have made tens of thousands of pounds from an international trade in illegal ivory escaped jail yesterday.

Michael Elliot, 57, from Gravesend, Kent, was given a two-year suspended sentence by Southwark crown court for dealing in items that included hippo tusks and whale teeth, which were destined for US buyers. Police discovered hundreds of pieces of ivory following a raid on Elliot's home, including 18 African elephant tusks, hippo tusks and 19 walking stick handles made from whale teeth.

Police also seized a sword and a scabbard, both carved from elephant tusk, £34,000 in cash and a picture of Elliot posing next to a pile of tusks in China.

He was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan police's arts and antiques squad and pleaded guilty to three counts of "selling specimens of a controlled species" between December 2004 and August 2005. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of keeping them for sale, and one of purchasing them.

Investigators believe that many of the items were made to order and were destined to be used for scrimshaw - single pieces of carved or engraved ivory. Under UK law only ivory carvings made before 1947 can be sold and must be accompanied by documents that show proof of age.

Detective Constable David Flint, from the Metropolitan police's wildlife crime unit (WCU) who worked on the case, said: "We're quite happy with Michael Elliot's sentence especially in light of the fact that he pleaded guilty and the judge grasped the impact of the trade. It's been a lengthy and complex case that involved inquiries in the US and the UK."

The raid followed a tip off from US authorities who were investigating Martin Schneider, a 60-year-old antiques trader from Philadelphia and a customer of Elliot's. He was arrested in a sting operation by federal agents who posed as dealers, and charged with smuggling £250,000 worth of whale teeth from Britain over a period of 10 years.

A raid on Schneider's home uncovered documents that led the British police to Elliot.

But Heather Sohl, from the conservation group WWF, said: "We feel that for this kind of large scale operation he should have received a more severe punishment ... it's been going on for three and a half years and we've praised the WCU for their work. One good thing is that the case highlights how useful it is to have dedicated officers who can look into all the technical details of this type of crime when forces might otherwise not find the time."